Refrigerator latch



' P 1949- L. ANDERSON ET AL 2,482,959

REFRIGERATOR LATCH Filed June 10, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l \NVENTOB LLox1L. ANDERSON ROBERT Ldqnusou Arwognavs Patented '27, .1949

Lloyd L. Anderson and Robert a. Johnson, Grand Rapids, Mich, assignorsto Winters dz Gram ton Corporation, Grandville, Mich, a corpora? tion ofMichigan Application June 10, 1940, sodium. ova-12o 5 Claims. (01.ass-as) l z a This invention is directed to a particularly warddirection, therefore, in the direction of the simply constructed,economically manufactured and effective latch structure, adapted to beused .on refrigerator doors, and having a spring actuated latch bolt toengage with a keeper therefor, carried on the adjacent casing or housingof the refrigerator. In the present invention, insofar as the latchmechanism is concerned, it is constructed of three major parts, allreadily and economically made from sheet metal, with the utilization ofpins for connecting the parts to gether, and simple springs associatedwith the parts in the fully assembled latch structure. The latch bolt isautomatically retracted when a door, carrying the latch, is closed,whereupon a beveled end of the latch bolt engages with and rides ozerthe keeper. The latch bolt is released by an outward pull upon a handle,or the like, the movemovement of the door for opening.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanyingv drawings, inwhich, I

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary horizontal section through the freejve'rticaledge portion of a refrigerator door and its associated side of therefrigerator casing with the door'in closed position,

- the latch structure being shown in plan, and

ment of which withdraws a rod, said rod in its 1 normal positioninterposing a stop againstdisconnection of the bolt with the keeper.present invention is concerned, among other things, with improvements inthe way of simplifying and bettering and more economically producinglatches ofthe character, for example, disclosed in my prior patentshaving Numbers 2,136,662, issued November 15, 1938; 2,188,795, issuedJanuary 9, 1940, and 2,252,591, issued August 12, 1941.

In the present invention, the latch structure may be directly mounted atthe inner side .of the refrigerator door and the keeper at the innerside of the casing near the front face ofa side of such casing, with a.'minimum and nearly complete absence of cutting away to make room forthe installation of the latch so far as the refrigerator structure,either-of the door or casing, is concerned. The latch is concealed whenthedoor is closed, with all that is exposed in the front being the latchreleasing handle or equivalent.

' It is an object and purpose of the present invention to provide anovel, simply constructed and economical latch structure of thecharacter stated, with which the door may be closed to a tightly closedposition and held with a required The compression of the sealing gasketbetween the.

door and the refrigerator casing, and with no undue increase in strengthof the latch bolt spring, the force of which is exerted to hold thelatch bolt in operative connection or relation to the keeper: andfurther, to provide a latch structure in which the bolt may be readilyreleased without compressing the latch bolt projecting spring, thereleasing being accomplished by -a relativelv li ht null unnn the handleIn an nutgigging a handle operated means of releasing the Fig. 2 is afragmentary transverse section through the door, the latch being shownin end elevation, and another construction of latch release illustrated,partly in section and partly in elevation. f

Fig, 3 is a rear elevationof the latch, viewing the same from the innerside of the door.

Fig. 4 is an elevation from the opposite side of i the latch structure.

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are longitudinal horizontal sections through thelatch showing the mechanism within the latch housing in four,differentpositions, which positions may be occupied by the interiorlatch mechanism atdifferent stages of the latch operation.

Figs. 9 and 10 are transverse, vertical sections upon the planes 9-9 andlO-lll respectively of Fig. 5 looking in the direction indicated, and

Fig. 11 shows in perspective the three major parts or elements of thelatch structure in separated or disassembled condition;

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figuresof the drawings.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the front portion of .a side 1 of arefrigerator casing is shown as having associated therewith a door 2closed to shut the open side of the refrigerator, and wit a compressablegasket 3 between the front face of said side I and the adjacent rearface portion ofthe face of the door 2. Such gasketshown secured to thecasing extends entirely around the door opening on the refrigeratorcasing. In some instances it may be carried at the rear side of thedoor, when the door is closed, the gasket should asaaoso which acylindrical pin or roller I is permanently secured.

In the latch structure, a housing of sheet metal integral in all' of itsparts. is used. It is formed with an inner side (Fig. 11) of a generallyrectangular form, from the longitudinal edges of which two spaced sidesI are bent to extend outwardly. What may be termed the rear end oi thehousing, is closed by an end 8 which is an extension at one end of theinnerside 6. At its other end, two tongues 9 ar bent inwardly towardeach other leaving a substantially rectangular opening it between theirinner edges and the side 6. Each of the sides I at its outer edge has aflange ll bent therefrom at right angles. The outer or base side of thehousing is open except for an extension i2 to the rear end 8 which isbent to lie in parallelism with the inner side I and the length of whichis less than the overall length of the housing as shown.

Within said housing, at its rear portion, a member which together withthe latch bolt hereafter to be described, makes in eflect a toggle leveris located. Such member made from a single piece of sheet metal has twospaced sides I! connected at one end by an integral bridge 14 betweenthem. Said sides It, at their opposite ends, have pin-passing openingstherethrough and are also formed each with an ear I! as shown with likepin-passing openings in alignment with each other. a

The latch bolt is also made from a single blank I of sheet metal. It hasan inner side it from which two spaced sides I! are bent at right anglesin an outward direction. At its forward end the inner side It iscontinued in an'inclined or beveled end portion is for the bolt, and isbent back to provide an outer side I! which is spaced from and liesgenerally in parallel relation to the inner side I, being located at thefree longitudinal edges of the sides ll, butv of a lesser length thanthe inner side II.

The sides I! of the previously described member are located within thelatch housing; and through them and openings in the sides I of the latchhousing made therefor, a pivot pin 20 passes and is headed over at itsends. The pivot pin 20 is located in relatively close proximity to theinner side 8. The bolt at its beveled portion I! at its outer end,passes through the opening it located atv the front end of the housingand extends toward the ears I. The sides I! of the bolt have each formedtherein a longitudinal slot 2! with closed ends. A pin 22 passes throughthe openings in the ears I! and through said slots, thereby providing apivotal and sliding connection of the latch bolt with the sides It. Astop 23 is pressed inwardly from each of the sides l1 near the front endof the bolt, between which and the pin 22 a coiled compression spring 24is located housed within the bolt. A second spring, a torsion spring 25,is around the pin' 2 having the two arms thereof, one bearing againstthe side of the housing and the other against the rear edge of thebridge I.

sides I! and the bridge I in a clockwise direction (Figs. to 8inclusive).

The part l2 which is at the outer side and rear end of the housing hasan opening made therethrough with a short, guide sleeve, as shown,around the opening, for the passage of a rod 26 which, when the latchbolt is in operative engagement with the keeper, as shown in Fig. 7, atits inner endwithin the housing, interposes a The normal tendency ofsaid i spring is to turn the member consisting of the stop back of thebridge ll against the movement of said bridge and the connected sides I!in a counter-clockwise direction.

The latch housing with the latch bolt within it, assembled as described,is secured at the inner side of the door 2. The rod 2!, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, passes through an opening made through the door to thefront side thereof. At its outer end (Fig. 1), it may have a pivotalconnection to a hand lever 21 pivotaliy mounted on a suitable fixturesecured at the outer side of the door. A pull outward on the free end ofthe handle will withdraw the rod 28. Said rod is normally moved inwardwhen free for such movement by a coiled spring 28 associated therewith,as shown in Fig. 1. Instead of the handle 21 being used to with- .draw.the rod 26, a suitable escutcheon 29 may be secured against the outsideof the door and use may be made of the same screws which pass throughthe flanges ll of the latch housing in connecting it at the inner sideof the door to securely connect said escutcheon. The rod 25 at its outerend is equipped with a pull knob 3|! adapted to'be grasped by the handto withdraw the rod against a spring ll, as shown, which normally movesthe rod 28 to its inner operative position.

With the door closed (Fig. 1), the outer'end of the latch bolt bearsupon the pin or roller 5 at its inner side with the parts. of the latchmechanism as in Fig. 1 and also in Fig. 7. The rod 26 is at the rearedge of the bridge it so that the latch bolt can not disengage from thekeeper except by a substantially direct longitudinal movement to theposition shown in Fig. 6. Such longitudinal movement with the doorclosed can not take place, as there is no applicable force possible tothus move the latch bolt when, with the door closed, it is connectedwith the keeper. To open the door the rod 28 is pulled outwardly. as byoperating the handle 21, the knob Ill or any other of an indefinitenumber of means which can be used for such purpose. on an outward pulland movement of the rod 26, it is moved out of the path of movement ofthe bridge I and the latch bolt and the member carrying the bridge itmoves from the position shown in Fig. 7 to that in Fig. a, substantiallya breaking of the toggle lever structure being made, and requiringapproximately only an overcoming of the strength of the spring 25. Thelatch bolt when thus tilted and drawn bodily inward'will, at its outerend, pass by the keeper pin or roller 5 and the door may be opened, suchopening following naturally by reason of the outward pull on the handle.As soon as the handle is released after opening the door, springs 25 and28 will return the parts to the position shown in Fig. 5.

On closing the door the beveled outer end l8 of the latch bolt ridesagainst said keeper member 5. The first movement is a movement of thebridge it from the position in.F1g. 5 to that in Fig. 6, a very limitedamount or until stopped by the rod 28. as the bolt is moved bodilyinward until its outer end passes by the keeper member 5. In Fig. 6 itis shown at the initial stage of such passage.

After it has-passed bysaid keeper member I, spring 24 projects the latchbolt to the position shown in Fig. '7, the side it of the bolt ridingagainst the inner side of the keeper pin or roller I. It will benoiedthat the side I9 is not all in the same plane but that the outer portionis inclined slightly with respect to the Thereafter spring 24 iscompressed ward movement of the door under such engagement of theslightly inclined outer end portion of the side It with the pin I issmall. therefore,

the force of the spring II is multiplied, in ac'- cordance with theprinciples of leverage, to coinbridge at it against the pin-2|, bearingthereagainst with pressure so that upon pulling the rod 20 outwardly,the latch has an initial movement toward its final opening position inPig. 8, and is carriedto complete keeperdisengaging position shown insuch figure, through the force exerted in pulling outwardly upon thehandle or knob when the rod 28 is manually withdrawn plus the assistingforce of the door gasket 8.

The structure described is of a very practical I cated between the edgesof the sides of said housing and of less length than the length of theassaosa.

[mally hold the member against movable member being adapted to be movedaway from its normal position to .release saidmember for pivotalmovement. 1 s

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, said housing at a side thereofadjacent the remaining corner ofsaid member having a section lohousingprovided with a guide'opening therethrough, said stop comprising alongitudinally movable rod extending through said opening back of saidpivotally mounted member to hold it and simple form. By reason of thesubstantially a complete housing of the spring within the latch bolt,the overall length of the latch is reduced. The number -of parts used isat a substantial minimum. Door opening is rendered easy and the tightclosing of the door is insured. The

. three major parts of the structure, all of sheet metal, may beproduced economically by large quantity methods of fabrication. Theassembly is very simple requiring merely the insertion of the spring 24into the bolt, the connection of the-bolt with the ears I! by insertingthe pin 22 through openings therein and the slots 2|,

and'the location of the bolt and its connected member within thehousing, and a passage of a pin 2' through the openings in the housingsides and at the outer corners of the sides It and through the middleportion of the spring II, with the heading of the ends of said pin 2|.

Simplicity of structure with resultant economy in manufacture, anddurability in service are primary characteristics of the presentinvention, together with insured sealing of the closed door andreleasing the latch bolt from its keeper for door opening with a minimumof release motion and effort.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be consideredcomprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

We claim:

1. In a latch structure, a housing having spaced sides and having an endbetween said sides with an opening therethrough, a latch bolt locatedwithin the housing with a free end portion thereof adapted to passthrough said opening, a member. located within the housing of agenerally triangular form, a pivot pin carried by the housing upon whichsaid member is mounted for pivotal movement at one of its cornerslocated inwardly a distance from the inner end of the bolt and near theedges of said sides, a pin extending through said member at anothercorner thereof located outwardly'a distance from said first pin, saidlatch bolt having longitudinal slots for the passage of said pintherethrough, spring means housed in the bolt bearing at one end againstsecond mentioned pin and at the other end, bearing against the bolt tonormally .hold the bolt in an outer position with respect to saidmember, said bolt being movable inwardly on compression of said springwith said member held against movement, and a movable against movement,combined with yieldable springmeans normally moving said rod in stop- Dmposition, said rod being adapted to be moved outwardly against thespring means acting thereon.

, 3. A latch structure including a housing of fiat v metalhavingparallel spaced sides, an inner side,

an outer end having an opening therethrough and an inner end having aportion extending therefrom of less length than the length'of said sidesof the housing at the outer side thereof, said last mentioned sectionhaving a guide opening therethrough, a sheet metal bolt having a closedend of substantially rectangular form and four sides extendingtherefrom, the closed end of said bolt normally extending throughsaidopening in the end of the housing, two sides of said bolt beinglocated in'parallel relation'to the spaced sides of the housing andhaving longitudinal slots, one in each side, a member of sheet metalhaving two spaced sides and abridge connecting said sides at one I edgethereof, said sides being of substantially triangular form, one of thecorners of each of said sides extending to the slotted sides of saidbolt and located in side ,by side relation therewith, a

pin extending through said corners and through the slots in said bolt, acoiled compression spring between said pin and the outer end of thebolt, a

pivot pin extending through one of the other cor-. ners of said sides ofsaid member and through the spaced sides of said housing locatedadjacent the inner side of said housing, said bridge between the sidesof the member being located adjacent and normally forward of the guideopening in said housing, and a longitudinally movable rod extendingthrough said opening back of said bridge and in the path of movementthereof normally stopping its movement toward the inner end of saidhousing, said rod being adapted to be moved outwardly and out of thepath of movement of said bridge.

4. A construction as defined in claim 3, and a spring associated withsaid member exerting force thereon to move the bridge portion thereof ina direction away from said rod, and a second spring associated with therod normally moving said rod to its stopping position, said secondspring being yieldable for outward movement of the rod.

5. A latch structure comprising, an elongated housing substantiallyrectangular in cross seca side extending from the inner end of thehousing toward the outer end a part of thedistance between said endswhereby one side of the housing is partially open, said latch housingbeing adapted to be secured at the inner side of a door with said lastmentioned side of the housing closely adjacent the door, the opening atthe inner end of the housing being spaced inwardly from the door a shortdistance and extending movement, said substantially tothe inner side ofsaid housing, a latch-bolt having an outer closed beveled end and foursides extending from the edges of said end, having an inner side adaptedto lie against 1 the inner side of the housing, the two of said sides ofthe bolt located substantially perpendicular to v the side of the doorhaving longitudinal'slots therein, said slotted sides of the bolt neartheir outer ends having inwardly extending projections, a spring withinsaid housing bearing at one end against said projections, a memberhaving two spaced sides, generally of triangular form, and a bridgeconnecting said sides at an edge thereof located adjacent the inner sideof the door, said side of the member at one of the corners'thereof,extending to and having overlapping relation with the slotted sides ofsaid bolt, a pin passing through the sides of said member at saidcorners and through said slots against which the other end of the springbears, a pivot pin extending through the innermost corner of the sidesof said member and through adjacent sides of the housing near the innerside of said housing. spring of said bridgemay bear, said rod beingmounted for longitudinalmovement for fnovement away from said bridge andout of engagement therewith.

v ILOYD L. ANDERSON.

ROBERT E. JOHNSON.

nsmnncns orrnn The following references are of record in the ills ofthis patent:

Number name Date 2,136,662 Anderson Nov. 15, 1938 2,186,795 AndersonJan. 9, 1940

